New and Emerging Technologies

Research on new and emerging technologies is more often than not an exercise of hyperbole. On one hand, we are told that technology will completely overturn our world, and on the other, that there is nothing new under the sun. Our relationship with technology and how we research it leaves us struggling to understand and anticipate its full impact. Much of this comes from the focus on countering both the hype and hope of the technologies themselves. But what is it about new and emerging technologies that is cause for concern? Why we should worry about new technologies is infinitely more important than what a new technology might be, how the technology might work, and who is using that technology. Without a clear sense of purpose, responses are reduced to mere reactions. The dialogue surrounding the dynamic opportunities and barriers afforded by emerging technologies sets the tone for what is or is not possible; what becomes harder or easier. This imposes forms of non-normative technological management outside of traditional participatory democratic processes. At CECS, our research theme on new and emerging technologies casts a wide net for these technologies’ impact upon: individual rights and freedoms; democratic principles, processes, and institutions; European law and European values; constitutional considerations; social cohesion; international security; and much more. While at present there appear to be promising or perilous technologies on the horizon (ranging from quantum computing to lifespan extension to geoengineering to energy positive fusion), our research is united not by the type of technology, its functioning, nor its characteristics. Rather, our research is united by what it would mean to live in a world imbued with powerful technologies, focusing on the deeper implications, impacts and motivations of behind them.

Matthijs Maas

The new PhD student, Mads Whitta-Jacobsen, will be introduced to the research groups when he starts on 1 September. So will Post Doc Signe Rehling Larsen (Carlsberg re-integration grant, currently at University of Oxford) when she starts in 2024.